Friday, September 19, 2008

Here at Dead Air, we are interested in the hereditary nature of... well, just about everything. But specifically, addiction, alcoholism and other forms of substance abuse. And I admit to a particular, politically-incorrect fascination when people with certain ethnic surnames are involved. And I think I've earned the right to be fascinated, okay? (Joke from my youth: When you get 4 Irishmen together, you always have a Fifth. Ha ha.) I am personally convinced certain families (ethnicities? are we even allowed to go there?) are more prone to addiction, or have the propensity for self-destructive behavior/temperament that might lead to same.

Or is this all learned behavior? Discuss amongst yourselves!

Note: I am also very interested when the bustee was beloved to me as a young woman. I hate to see this to happen to Ryan O'Neal, who has battled both booze and cancer. But like the song says: Mom loves the both of them... you see it's in the blood...

Deputies found Redmond O'Neal, 24, in possession of methamphetamine while a vial of the drug was found in Ryan O'Neal's bedroom, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

The father and son later were released on $10,000 bail each, he said.

The O'Neals were detained shortly after 7:15 a.m. during a probation search related to a case involving Redmond O'Neal. The two were taken to the sheriff's Malibu/Lost Hills station.

Redmond, whose mother is actress Farrah Fawcett, was arrested last year on charges related to carrying heroin and crystal meth while driving under the influence in Malibu.

He pleaded not guilty to drug possession and one misdemeanor DUI charge as part of a deal intended to help him avoid jail. He was sentenced to three years probation and $1,688 in fines for the DUI charge.

In another case from 2005, Redmond O'Neal was placed on probation stemming from an arrest on suspicion of methamphetamine and cocaine possession.

Ryan O'Neal, 67, was arrested last year on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and negligent discharge of a firearm after firing a gunshot during an argument with another son, Griffin O'Neal.

The actor told authorities that Griffin, 43, picked up a fireplace poker and started swinging it. Griffin grazed him four or five times and "aimed at my head, I ducked, he hit his own girlfriend in the head," Ryan O'Neal said at the time.

The actor said he fired a warning shot intended to scare his son.

The elder O'Neal was nominated for an Oscar for the 1970 movie "Love Story."

PS: Has anyone ever seen Tatum's very strange, bizarre, borderline-pedophilia movie (with Richard Burton) titled Circle of Two? Very, very weird. It was made in 1980 when she was 17, but she plays a 15-year-old, throwing herself at 60-year-old Richard. After her book came out stating she was molested, I felt it was even more bizarre than I did initially...

Binge drinking, according to that link is 5 or more drinks in a sitting. That made me laugh, but of course I was thinking about my drinking in the old days. I'm in recovery now over 20 years, thank God. The article about Ryan O'Neal and son, made me think of the difficulty people of means must have finding recovery. More than the Irish connection I thought of the money connection. I was the grateful recipient of the blessing in disguise of having lost nearly everything.

To begin: Hello! I've been lurking, but I've never commented before. I love this blog. :)

I can't help but wonder myself, whether the perceived tendency in Irish families for addiction can at least partly come from a cultural thing. Where I am, there are a lot of rural enclaves that are almost all Irish or Scottish (to the point where Gaelic is not uncommonly spoken) and there is a definite frequency of addiction. Can it have something to do with the isolation whether geographical or cultural?

Also, a joke my girlfriend (who comes from one of the aforementioned places) cracks up at: What's an Irish seven-course meal? A six-pack of Guinness and a potato.

Sorry if I'm rambly and not that coherent, I had my wisdom teeth out not long ago, and am a little fuzzy still.

I've been a lifelong fan of Tatum (we're the same age & I grew up watching her) and I've always been pulling for her and her family. I can remember reading my Teen Beat mags where she was seen out on the town, at Studio 54 w/ her dad in a low cut dress, dancing w/ celebrities. She actually had a pretty rough life. I wish them all well.